Systems and methods herein generally relate to printing devices and more particularly to printing devices that use an applicator to deliver lubricant to an electrostatic surface.
Lubricant delivery roller systems in modern printers have shown tremendous potential for improving image quality with over-coated photoreceptors in charged systems (by reducing cleaning blade related torque and deletion of image quality defects). Further, such lubricant delivery roller systems reduce photoreceptor wear rate and the propensity for filming.
Many systems control the delivery of trace amounts of lubricant (such as paraffin oil, or other liquid materials) to the surface of a photoreceptor. In these, delivery of the lubricant serves as a means to mitigate deletion and reduce cleaning blade friction in systems with over-coated photoreceptors and BCR (biased charge roll) charging systems. Applying a nanometer-thin layer of lubricant as a refreshable, sacrificial barrier to protect the photoreceptor surface controls delivery of the lubricant. For example, an oil-infused elastomeric roller can deliver the lubricant oil either directly to the photoreceptor surface or to the BCR that then transfers the oil to the photoreceptor surface. In either case, the delivery roller is in constant contact and is continuously delivering oil to the surface.